The Solarnauts Live action, colour pilot film, ©1967. This pilot is a variation on the format of Space Patrol, featuring an organisation operating a fleet of patrol craft responsible for protecting the Earth and other Solar planets. Cloud Of Death Screenplay by Roberta Leigh Directed by John Moxey The episode opens with a strange cloud destroying a Research Base on Mars. An alien called Logik (Alex Scott) threatens to destroy the Martian capital with another, larger icionic cloud unless he is given claim to the mining rights of the planet, giving him a foothold in our solar system. Solarnaut chief Tri-S (John Ringham) instructs the nearest Solarscope, 2511, crewed by Power (John Garfield) and Tempo (Derek Fowlds) to the source of the transmission - barren airless asteroid K137 - which houses a meteorite research station. Given that the Solar Space Fleet will not arrive at the asteroid belt in time, they must destroy Logik's base if necessary before the attack can be launched. However, Logik opens fire on their Solarscope as it approaches so Power and Tempo use a scout saucer in a clever ruse to land on the surface. They team up with meteorite researcher Kandia (Martine Beswick), who was marooned on the asteroid after the Logis destroyed the station, and gain access into the alien base. Planting timed miniature delta bombs around the base, first Power and then Kandia are captured in immobilising traps and taken to Logik. Alone,Tempo overcomes a Logi and immobilises it in a trap in an attempt to rescue them. A final confrontation with Logik takes place in his control room, as the countdown to the attack nears zero... Starring: John Garfield as Power • Derek Fowlds as Tempo John Garfield as Tri-S Alex Scott as Logik • Martine Beswick as Kandia and George Roubicek Virginia Wetherell • Jan Leeming Les Crawford • Frank Maher Cliff Diggins • Romo Gorrara Peter Blair-Stewart • John Connell Production Credits: Created by Roberta Leigh Director of Photography: Frank Watts Supervising Editor: Frank Goulding Supervising Art Director: Bob Jones Production Supervisor: Johnny Goodman Music Composed by: Johnny Hawksworth Designer: Roland Whiteside Camera Operator: John Wimbolt Assistant Director: Ken Baker Focus Operator: Maurice Arnold Casting Director: Anthony Arnell Costume Design: Natasha Kornilof Sound Recordist: David Bowen Continuity: Valery Norman Make-up Supervisor: Bob Clark Hairdresser: Betty Glasgow Wardrobe Supervisor: Laura Nightingale Gaffer: Ted Hallows Model Sequences Photographed by Arthur Provis Special Effects and Animation: Jock Spiers, Bill Ward & David Knill Models by Modelive Ltd. Wonderama Production for A.B.C. T.V. Films Ltd Review: After the undecisive effort that was Paul Starr, which didn't really know if it was trying to emulate the Gerry Anderson series or be its own thing, The Solarnauts is a rather cracking good space adventure. It doesn't have any pretensions towards anything deep, and comes over as The Man From UNCLE meets Lost In Space. In some ways, it also echoes the first episodes of Anderson's own Fireball XL5 and Stingray (alien threat, patrol ship investigates, confrontation in alien base etc.), but not being done with puppets this is less obvious. Reportedly produced on another very tight budget, this only really comes over in some of the model and explosive effects, which add more to the 'live action comic strip' feel. Otherwise the production is suitably impressive given when it was made, predating UFO by two years and bearing some design simularities to the film Moon Zero Two. Certainly the laser and animation effects impress. Johnny Hawksworth's jazzy score gives the action a pace unrealised in any other Roberta Leigh production, and the episode doesn't outstay its welcome. John Garfield however, initially the lead if reports are to be believed, comes over a little flat, and it is Derek Fowlds who actually comes out on top - both in terms of the story and in the acting stakes. Despite being given some dodgy lines, he is both believeable and likeable - the best asset the pilot has. Likewise, Martine Beswick's Kandia would have made a welcome regular - but being given little to do except give Power and Tempo something to ogle over, she is little more than eye kandy. Alex Scott's Logik also has potential as an interesting reoccuring villain. In all, this could have been a fun show to hit the screens in 1967 or 1968, with little to match it at the time except perhaps the US import Lost In Space. Whereas one could only speculate on whether Paul Starr could have improved, given its nice format but lacklustre pilot, The Solarnauts hits its template dead on first time. A real shame it never made it to a series... 'It's silly but we love it to bits!' AstroViewer Working: • Running time: 25 min, 15 secs • Like Paul Starr, no attempt is made to say when the series is set. • Actor Derek Fowlds (right) is better known for his roles in Yes, Minister and Heartbeat and got his part in The Solarnauts only a few years after graduating from RADA. “They were talking about me signing a contract for five years.” he recalls, “They got very excited about it, after all it was before Star Trek and Star Wars. I also got very excited about it, thinking I was about to make a lot of money! The contracts were drawn up and then nothing - the whole project was abandoned. I never understood the reason and to this day I’ve never seen that pilot episode. It must look very dated - and I’m sure I look about 12!” • His co-star John Garfield (Jnr) was the son of famed actor John Garfield. While he maintained a steady acting career, going on to appear in MacKenna's Gold with Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif, he turned to film editing in the 1980s and reverted to his given name, David Garfield. He sadly died of a heart attack in 1994. • Character actor John Ringham (left) recalls the filming was not a happy experience: "I distinctly recall the penny pinching and the all-pervading atmosphere surrounding the production which was solely to make money. There was an executive of some kind constantly around who was clearly overwhelmed at the lack of budget and spent time carping about details with seemingly no interest whatsoever in what was going on during the shooting." • Director John Moxey started directing in the 1950s for the BBC, and moved on to film series such as Edgar Wallace and The Avengers. Moving to America in the early 1970s, and changing his name to John Llewellyn Moxey, he directed the ratings hit The Night Stalker, which gave rise to the Kolchak series starring Darren McGavin, and Gene Roddenberry's pilot Genesis II. He has worked on many theatrical and television movies, as well as the pilot of the original Charlie's Angels, and episodes of Kung Fu, Magnum P.I. and Murder She Wrote. • Actor Alex Scott (right) guest starred in several ITC and film series, such as The Saint and The Avengers. He appeared in the 1964 series R3 as Dr, Max Rankl and in the film Fahrenheit 451. He was also seen as Aarchon in the Space:1999 episode 'Voyagers Return'. • Actress Martine Beswick (left) starred opposite Rachel Welsh in One Million Years BC in 1969, and co-starred with Ralph Bates in the Hammer film Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde in 1970. • Actor George Roubicek (below left) is now a writer and director but better known to telefantasy fans as Captain Hopper in the Doctor Who story 'The Tomb Of The Cybermen'. He does not remember much about The Solarnauts but, referring to the outline description of it having a '1950s feel', cites this as "possibly why the series was never made." • Actress Virginia Wetherell (below centre) recalls filming The Solarnauts at Shepperton Studios one particularly hot summer. Virginia is better known to telefantasy fans as the Thal queen Dyoni in the Doctor Who story 'The Daleks' in 1963/64. She also appeared in Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde, with Martine Beswick. • Actress Jan Leeming (below right) would have been better known as a television presenter with Westward Television (before moving on to Granada and the BBC) when The Solarnauts was produced but regrettably, like George Roubicek, has no recollection of filming the pilot after over thirty years. • Frank Maher has worked as Stunt Man and Stunt Co-ordinator on series such as The Avengers, The Prisoner, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Blakes 7. • Roma Gorrara has also worked as a Stunt Man on The Avengers, and Stunt Co-ordintor on many films including Raiders Of The Lost Ark, A Fish Called Wanda, Batman and the Bond films Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. It is believed he died recently. • Johnny Hawksworth is best known as the composer of Thames Television's ident and opening tune. Hawksworth was a prolific arranger in the 1960s, composing the themes for ABC's Thank Your Lucky Stars, sit-coms such as George and Mildred, and the famous linking chords from This is Your Life. • While credited to 'Modelive Ltd', the Solarnaut base docking ring is clearly made from... Galasphere 347! (right) Some parts of Space Headquarters also reappear in the main Solarnaut base dome. • The original Solarscope cockpit set from Paul Starr appears, heavily revamped and modified, as Power and Tempo travel down to the scout saucer. • Parts of the power station also seen in Paul Starr reappear - briefly - as part of the destroyed Colony Research Station 4. • Footage of the view from the Solarscope in Paul Starr is reused as Solarscope 2511 is drawn into the cloud at the beginning of the episode. • The sound effect of the Solarscope Saucer and Icionic Cloud would later be reused for the Triton Probe, and the drive of the Eagle Transporters in Gerry Anderson's Space:1999 • John Garfield and Martine Beswick seem uncertain if the aliens are called 'Low-Gees' or 'Low-Jees'... • The Solarnauts was passed for release by the BBFC on June 4th 2003 - certificate PG, with mild violence and sexual references. • It has now been released for the first time as one of the extras on the Space Patrol DVD Box Set. As well as the Paul Starr and Solarnauts pilots, these other films are known to exist, having been stored along with the entire series of Space Patrol. Space Patrol - The Website would welcome any information on any of these or any other Wonderama/National Interest Picture Productions for future updates.